Cibc World Markets Corp Boosts Stake in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 287.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,079 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $8,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Steel Dynamics in the third quarter worth $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Steel Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Steel Dynamics by 532.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.41% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD opened at $127.09 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.98. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.60 and a 52-week high of $155.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.53.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is a positive change from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is presently 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STLD has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Steel Dynamics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.56.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other Steel Dynamics news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Steel Dynamics Profile

Steel Dynamics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products.